Conferences

Thirteenth Annual Inter-American Seminar on Economics

The NBER's 13th Annual Inter-American Seminar on Economics took place in Santo Domingo, Costa Rica on November 16--17. Sebastian Edwards, NBER and University of California, Los Angeles, and James J. Heckman, NBER and University of Chicago, organized this year's program around the topic "Micro-data Research in Latin America":

James J. Heckman, and Carmen Pages, Inter-American

Development Bank, "The Cost of Job Security Regulation: Evidence from Latin American Labor Markets"

David Bravo and Dante Contreras, "The Impact of Financial Incentives to Training Providers: The Case of Chile Joven"

Discussant: Jeffrey A. Smith

Heckman and Pages document the high level of job security protection in Latin American labor markets and analyze its impact on employment. They show that job security policies have a substantial impact on the level and the distribution of employment in Latin America, reducing employment and promoting inequality. The institutional organization of the labor market thus affects both employment and inequality.

Saavedra and Torero analyze the effect of several aspects of labor legislation that were modified in Peru after 1991. Through the progressive elimination of job stability regulations, the introduction of temporary contracts, and changes in the severance payment structure, firing costs diminished sharply. Simultaneously, nonwage lab or costs increased. Using data on 10 sectors observed bimonthly between 1987 and 1997 and data on establishments for 3 subperiods, the authors find that labor costs have a negative and significant effect on labor demand. …

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